HOW A HINDU KING BECAME MUSLIM AND ATTAINED THE STATUS OF A SAHABI

Hold your breath! What you are about to read is not only amazing but highly awe-inspiring. It will, God willing, not only revitalize the conviction of the people of Islamic faith, but will also make the non-Muslims to revisit Islam.

It is a common belief that Islam was first introduced to India by Muhammed bin Kasim. However, in the light of some startling facts that have surfaced in the recent past, it has been established that Islam came much earlier to India - as early as the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) time.

In an interview with a descendant of an Indian King of that time whom Allah guided to become a Sahābi, some very fascinating facts have emerged. 87-year-old Raja Valiyathampuram of  Kodungallur in Central Kerala (Malabar as it was known then) is a successor of a Chera king, King Chakrawati Farmas of Malabar who was also known as Cheraman Perumal Bhaskara Ravi Varma of Kodungallure. Cheraman Perumal, is known to be the first Indian to embrace Islam in the early 7th century. In the interview, taken by A. U. Asif, Raja Valiyathampuram dwells in detail upon his great early ancestor and the oldest masjid (see picture below) of the sub-continent. The facts stated in this interview also confirm that not all Sahāba’s graves are in Arabia, meaning they travelled all over the world with the mission to spread the Deen of Islam.

Part of the interview is given below:

How do you take your great-great grandfather Cheraman Perumal? Cheraman Perumal was not only a king and my ancestor, but the first Indian to come into the fold of Islam. He was actually the person who gifted Islam and the first ever mosque to the Indian sub-continent. This happened much before the advents of Muhammad bin Kasim and Mahmood Ghaznavi. This shows that Islam didn’t come to India with the sword.  Is it a fact? As is well known in Kerala, on a moon-lit night the king while walking on the rooftop of his palace along with the queen saw the moon suddenly

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splitting into two halves. Later he came to know through the Arab traders that a prophet called Muhammad (peace be upon him) had wrought a miracle (upon Allah’s command) on that fateful night and sundered the moon before a crowd of dazed spectators. Impressed by this new Messenger of God in Arabia, the king set out for the holy land after dividing his kingdom and assigning various territories to local chieftains to ensure smooth governance. In Arabia he met the Prophet (peace be upon him) and embraced Islam in the presence of Abu Bakr Siddique, who later became the first Caliph. Cheraman, who took a Muslim name, Tajuddin, died on his way back to India and was buried on the shore of the Arabian Sea at Salālah in the Sultanate of Oman. It is said that he had earlier written letters to the local rulers of Malabar and sent it through his ministers along with Malik bin Dinar*, a companion of the Prophet (peace be upon him). In the letters he had asked them to "receive the bearers of the letters and treat them well and help them to construct mosques at Kodungallur and elsewhere". The rulers of Kerala honoured the letters and permitted Malik Bin Dinar and his fellow Arab traders to build mosques in Kerala. The mosque built in the early 7th century at Kodungallur, known as Cheraman Malik Masjid, still exists with its original structure and is said to be the oldest mosque in the sub-continent. It is named after both Cheraman Perumal and Malik bin Dinar. 

Is the mosque intact with its original structure?Yes, the original structure, including the sanctum sanctorum, remains intact. However, there have been a few extensions in the past. Its front portion is new while the back portion with its sanctum sanctorum, mehrab, mimbar  (pulpit), wooden work on the roof of mimbar  and traditional lamp as well as the ancient ceremonial pond, is still untouched.      Anything more about Malik bin Dinar? After the construction of the mosque at Kodungallur, Malik bin Dinar moved towards Mangalore and died at Kasaragod, now in Karnataka, where he rests in peace. Interestingly, Cheraman Perumal and Malik bin Dinar are buried on two sides of the Arabian Sea, one at Salālah in the Sultanate of Oman and the other at Kasaragod in India. In other words, their graves are interlinked by the waters of the sea. There exist 14 mosques of the same pattern and design from Kodungallur to Mangalore. 

(A. U. Asif is a Delhi based senior journalist)

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ORIGINAL CHERAMAN JUMA MASJID

A very striking fact which the historians have failed to highlight is that this is the world’s second oldest Juma Masjid, where the Juma prayers have been held for the last 1379 years, since the days of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). The first Juma Masjid in the world is Masjid-un-Nabawi (Prophet’s (peace be upon him) Masjid in Madinah Al-Munawarah.

We have to bear in mind that travelling in those days was very arduous and time consuming, and Cheraman, being a King, must have been used to a very comfortable life. Yet his belief in the Prophet (peace be upon him) was so strong that he was ready to leave his comforts and withstand all these hardships just to meet the Prophet (peace be upon him).

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CHERAMAN JUMA MASJID AS IT STANDS NOW

The books of ahadith have documented the arrival of the Indian king and his meeting the Prophet.  Abu Sa’id al-Khudri, a companion of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), states:“The Indian king gifted the Prophet (peace be upon him) with a jar of ginger.  The companions ate it piece by piece.  I took a bite as well.”

The king was thus considered a Sahābi (companion) – a term used for a person who met the Prophet (peace be upon him) and died as a Muslim – his name is registered in the mega-compendiums chronicling the Prophet (peace be upon him)’s companions.

In Salālah there in an unmarked tomb of the Dravidian Emperor of the Chera dynasty, the illustrious Cheraman Parumal., who was the first known head of state to embrace Islam during the life time of the prophet Mohamed(peace be upon him). According to the Omani legend, on the way back to his native country in South India, the Emperor fell ill and he and his party decided to rest in the present day Salālah. His request to land there was met with a rebuttal. Subsequent to negotiations, the locals agreed to give permission on condition that, since they were starving due to lack of food, the emperor should do something to see that their barren area received rain and the nearby sea, where there was a dearth of fish, became plentiful with fish.

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Emperor Cheraman (now Tajuddin) and his entourage prayed to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’la. Allah granted their prayers and blessed the people of Salālah, which became a green paradise in the desert region, identical to his (Emperor Cheraman Perumal’s) own land back in India, which is very fertile and has plenty of fish in the sea. However, the Emperor could not recover from illness and he passed away peacefully in a land exactly like his own cherished Kerala. Salālah still remains like a heaven in an otherwise desert area. But before his death he had asked his companions, among whom there were a number of senior disciples of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), to continue their journey to Kerala.

Another historical version says: The king met the prophet at Jeddah on Thursday 27th Shawwal, six yeas before Hijrah (617 A.D.). He embraced Islam and accepted the name Tajuddin (the crown of the faith). After remaining in Arabia for few years the king decided to return to Malabar, but on the way he died at Shahar Muqalla in Yemen on Monday 1st Muharram in the first year of Hijrah (622 A.D.)

ANOTHER VIEW OF CHERAMAN JUMA MASJID

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MAP SHOWING PROBABLE JOURNEYS OF CHERAMAN PERUMAL AND MALIK BIN DINAR

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Shaq ul Qamar (splitting of the Moon)

The splitting of the moon is mentioned in the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Qamar (54), Verses 1-3:

The hour drew nigh and the moon was rent in twain.And if they behold a portent they turn away and say:

Prolonged illusion.They denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts.

Yet everything will come to a decision.

This ‘Moon Splitting’ is also mentioned in several ahadith ((Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Virtues and Merits of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions,Volume 4, Book 56, Ahadith Nos. 830 to 832)

Number 830: Narrated Abdullah bin Masud: During the lifetime of the Prophet the moon was split into two parts and on that the Prophet said, "Bear witness (to thus)."

Number 831: Narrated Anas: That the Meccan people requested Allah's Apostle to show them a miracle, and so he showed them the splitting of the moon.

Number 832: Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The moon was split into two parts during the lifetime of the Prophet.

Researched & written by: Mohammed Bashir Bharadia(Allah knows best and may He forgive me for any inaccuracies – Ameen.)

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